Sopapillas

4 cups Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
t tsp. salt
4 tlbs. shortening
1 1/2-1 3/4 cups warm water

Cut all ingredients together with a fork. Add warm water a little at a time. Knead for a couple min. Cover and let sit for about 20 min. Fry until golden and puffy.

Recipe courtesy of Sara Lund

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

I was disappointed when I saw shortening on the ingredient list for these cookies, because I typically try to avoid using shortening in my cooking and baking. Normally I would just substitute an equal amount of butter for the shortening and never think a thing about it. However, thanks to an article I read in Cook’s Illustrated, I learned that shortening and butter have some different properties that affect the way they behave in baked goods. I really wanted to keep the thick, chewy texture I was expecting from these cookies, so instead of subbing butter for all of the shortening, I did so only for half. It worked like a charm and I was thrilled with the way these turned out. The honey probably also plays a role in this magnificent texture, but I don’t know enough of that science to explain it. A cookie (or two) with a cold glass of milk was a great way to unwind after a long day. Obviously, I lead a wild and crazy life. Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies Printer-Friendly Version Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1½ tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt ¼ cup vegetable shortening 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1 cup honey 2 large eggs Sugar, for rolling the cookies Directions: In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening, butter, peanut butter and honey. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and beat just until incorporated. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Roll the dough into 1½-inch balls, and roll each dough ball in sugar. Place the dough balls on an ungreased baking sheet, a couple inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until slightly puffed and golden. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough. Store in an airtight container. Source: adapted from What’s Cooking in the Orange Kitchen, originally from Taste of Home

Mint Limeade Drink

1-1 1/2 bottles of 7up or Sprite
1 can limeade frozen concentrate
1 Cucumber peeled and sliced
Red Fruit washed and sliced (cranberries in the winter, raspberries or strawberries in summer)

Recipe Courtesy of Cliss Ercanbrack

Oreo Lasagna

I found this online recently and am interested to try it...Probably for the next church potluck I go to. ;o)

Courtney Luper

Lasagna for dessert...ABSOLUTELY!! This Oreo Lasagna is perfect for a pot luck dinner, family dinner or end of summer party!!

heart emoticon OREO LASAGNA heart emoticon

Serves 16
Prep Time - 10 min
Total Time - 4 hr

Ingredients
1 package oreo cookies
4 tbsp. butter, melted
8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. skim milk
12 oz fat free cool whip
6 Snack Pack Fat Free Chocolate Pudding cups (or make 1 package of chocolate pudding)

Instructions
1.Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with nonstick spray
2.In a food processor, or in a zip closed bag, crush the Oreo Cookies (I used the bag version and it was super easy without all the clean up of the food processor)
3.Set aside 1 cup of crushed Oreos for topping
4.Combine remaining crushed Oreo's with melted butter
5.Press buttered Oreo's into the bottom of the prepared dish
6.In a small bowl whip the softened cream cheese using a handheld mixer until light and fluffy
7.Mix in sugar, milk and 1 1/4 cups of cool whip until well combined
8.Spread cream cheese layer over the Oreo crust until smooth and even
9.Layer chocolate pudding in an even layer over the cream cheese
10.Spoon remaining cool whip over pudding and gently smooth
11.Sprinkle on mini chocolate chips
12.Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours but overnight is best
13.Serve & ENJOY!!

Notes
Each serving is 8 WW+ points
Nutritional Info
Calories 309 Calories from Fat 127 Total Fat 14.1g Saturated Fat 7.0g Cholesterol 20mg Sodium 265mg Potassium 46mg Carbohydrates 42.9g Dietary Fiber 1.0g Sugars 28.4g Protein 3.5g
Vitamin A 6% - Vitamin C 0% - Calcium 7% - Iron 6%
Nutrition Grade - D
By MJ

Lemon Cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes (Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites)

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) of REAL butter
3 c. cake flour (no substitutions here–you really need the lightness of cake flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. sugar
5 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 2 lemons (just zest the other lemons before you squeeze them)
1 c. buttermilk


Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners (I like foil liners best for this recipe). This recipe will make closer to 36 cupcakes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. Don’t go skimping here–you want the mixture to be almost white and super fluffy. This is absolutely essential to the outcome of the cake.

While butter and sugar are mixing, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside. (Don't worry about buying some fancy sifter, seriously. I bought these fine mesh sieves at Wal-Mart for super cheap!)

After butter and sugar have mixed sufficiently, With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Beat in vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

With mixer on low speed, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until fully incorporated.

Using a large cookie scoop, place about 1 scoop of batter into each muffin cup. Fill these almost to the top–due to the final texture (again, think super-moist and light pound cake), these cupcakes won’t have a nice, curvy crown, but that’s okay–no one will ever know or care.

Bake about 18-20 minutes or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. You don’t want to over bake these even a bit, or they’ll start to lose their delicious moisture.

Remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes before moving to cooling rack. Frost with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting and top with berries or your choice. My favorite are blackberries when they are in season!!!

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/1/2 Cups confectioners' sugar
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Lemon Zest and Juice from 1/2 of a lemon

Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice and mix to incorporate. Stop mixer at this point and scrape down the bowl. Add in the confectioner's sugar and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more. Blend in vanilla.

Easy Pad Thai

(adapted from Everyday Food by browniesfordinner.com)
Serves 4
8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 squirts (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
2 teaspoons coconut oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
2 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
5. Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
6. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

Notes and variations

• Per serving: 315 calories, 7g fat (0.9g saturated fat), 3.6g protein, 60.5g carb, 1.4g fiber
• Per serving: $1.50 or less.
• As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, this is a gluten-free recipe.
• Vegetarian, even. Skip the eggs for vegan.
• If you’re a carnivore try this: While the noodles are soaking, cut up 1 small chicken breast (or half of one of the colossal ones) into bite sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in a little bit of soy sauce and garlic (or make a little extra of the sauce for the noodles and marinate the chicken in that). OR: use shrimp (marinate same as chicken)… heck, use both. Cook them before you add the noodles to the pan.
• Leftovers: heat in the microwave or toss in a hot skillet for a minute to warm the noodles. Not as good as the first day but with a little extra lime juice, it makes a nice leftover-lunch.

Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes

Yield: Serves 12, Phases 1 and 3

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (Phase 3 only; use broth or water for Phase 1)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder (if you like milder chili, use less)
• 2 14.5-ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 pound dried black beans, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Sea salt
• 1 2 1/4-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup quick-cooking barley
• Lime wedges
• Diced red onion or green onion
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Pickled jalapeño rings

Instructions

1. Heat the oil (or broth/water) in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onions and cook until soft and beginning to brown, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the garlic; stir 1 minute.
4. Sprinkle the chili powder, coriander, and chipotle powder over; stir 1 minute.
5. Stir in the tomatoes with juice, beans, and oregano. Add 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally, about 2 hours (time will vary depending on freshness of beans).
6. Season to taste with salt and (if you like) additional chipotle powder. (DO AHEAD: The chili can be made to this point up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm the chili over low heat before continuing.)
7.  
8. Stir the squash and barley into the chili. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until the squash and bulgur are tender, about 30 minutes.
9. Season to taste with salt and chipotle. Divide the chili among bowls. Squeeze lime wedges over the chili and garnish with red or green onion, cilantro, and pickled jalapeño rings.

Recipe courtsey of Haylie Pomroy